A Sweet New Opening: Hastings Museum Unveils New Kool-Aid Exhibit

HASTINGS, Neb., — The Hastings Museum is celebrating a global icon this spring with the debut of its
refreshed and reimagined Kool -Aid exhibit, opening to the public on Sunday, March 8, 2026. After more than two decades , the beloved exhibit has been completely transformed into a vibrant, colorful, and immersive experience for visitors of all ages.

Kool -Aid has deep roots in Hastings, Nebraska, where Edwin Perkins invented his famous powdered drink mix. What started as a small mail -order business grew into a household name recognized around the world. The new exhibit brings that story to life, sharing the Perkins family journey, highlighting the brand’s local beginnings, its evolution over the decades, and the creativity and entrepreneurship that made Kool - Aid an icon.

The Kool -Aid Man is bursting into a brand -new space on the Museum’s second floor, moving from its original lower-level location. While longtime fans will still find favorite elements such as vintage
commercials and premium products through the decades, the reimagined exhibit introduces dynamic
interactive experiences. Visitors can “shop ” in the General Store , “work” in the Kool -Aid Factory , cast
their vote at the Favorite Flavor Station, and leave their mark on the Share Your Memories Wall.
“This exhibit is a celebration of imagination and innovation,” said Teresa Kreutzer -Hodson, Museum
Director. “From the original opening in 2002 to our small refresh in 2012, and now this latest reimagining, it’s incredible to see the story of Kool -Aid come alive for a new generation. Families learn and connect with the history of a product that started right here in Nebraska and that’s something special. I’m very proud of all the hard work our team and partners have put into this.”
With its bold design, new location, and interactive elements, the exhibit invites visitors to step inside the world of Kool -Aid like never before. This new exhibit screams Kool -Aid from the outside in and its open, flexible layout encourages exploration, letting families create “Discover the Dream” at their own pace instead of chronologically like before.

The reimagined Kool -Aid exhibit was made possible through generous community and philanthropic
support, including funding in part from the City of Hastings half -cent sales tax, a lead construction gift from the Kitty M. Perkins Foundation, and contribution s from Hastings Museum Foundation donors through the Brooking Society Campaigns since 2018, Give Hastings Day supporters, and other individual and corporate donors. Together, these gifts brought the bold new vision to life , ensuring that the story of Kool -Aid, born in Hastings and now recognized worldwide, continues to inspire future generations.

Behind the Exhibit: A Bigger Investment in Preservation and Possibility While visitors will experience bright colors, bold graphics, and an enthusiastic “Oh Yeah!” this spring, the reimagined Kool -Aid exhibit represents something much larger happening behind the scenes at the Hastings Museum.
For years, the museum’s growing collection of more than 51,000 objects, 4,400 photographs, 2,000 books and library materials, and 6,300 archival items were stored in a variety of locations throughout the building. Some of those spaces were not climate cont rolled, were difficult to access, and were never designed specifically for long -term collections care. That has now changed.

A new centralized collections storage space featuring more than one mile of compact shelving, dedicated environmental controls, and a purpose -built work area now brings the entire collection together into one safe, efficient, and accessible home. The space includes more than 55 yards of shelving for books and documents alone, in addition to the thousands of feet of storage designed to properly house current and future collection items. Without this compact shelving system, the museum would eventually require a building addition to continue collecting and preserving Central Nebraska’s history.

This transformation is about more than storage . It fundamentally changes how the museum works. Staff are conducting a comprehensive inventory of every item: photographing each object, researching and verifying records, updating scientific names where applicable, cleaning artifacts, and creating custom storage housing. On average, this process takes an hour and a half per object. It is a massive undertaking, but one that ensures objects can be more easily located, better preserved, tracked for changes over time, and made more accessible to researchers, historians, and future exhibits.

“This kind of work isn’t always visible to the public, but it’s essential,” said Sarah Minshew, Curator of
Collections at the Hastings Museum. “By investing in proper collections care now, we’re ensuring these stories can continue to be told , not just today, but decades from now.”

The Kool -Aid exhibit is one of the first major public -facing projects to directly benefit from this
investment. Its move from the lower level to the second floor goes hand in hand with the collections
project, as the former exhibit space will now serve as the museum’s centralized collections storage area.

In addition, the Kool -Aid redesign marks the first step in a larger rethinking of the museum’s second floor. Over time, additional cultural exhibits will be refreshed with improved accessibility, updated
interpretation, and modernized displays , ensuring the important stories of Central Nebraska shine as
brightly as the history they preserve. Because history is happening every day, the Hastings Museum must continue collecting today to serve tomorrow. The new collections space and the renewed Kool -Aid exhibit it supports make that future possible.